France plans to invest 65 million euros (42.6 billion FCFA) in Africa to support burgeoning technological start-ups, said President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday during the inaugural ceremony of the 3rd edition Viva Technology (VivaTech), which is being held from May 24 to 26 in Paris.
This funding will be made available by the French Development Agency (AFD), “will be designed to fill the gaps accompanying small tickets, which are the ones these startups need, from 30 to 50,000 euros,” he said. he said.
For Emmanuel Macron, “African startups have energy,” but major donors of development aid and financiers are not adapted. “We ourselves are too slow, too hesitant,” he admitted.
According to the World Bank, there are currently some 443 African incubators – companies that support new businesses with funds and expertise – compared with only 10 at the beginning of the decade.
VivaTech brings together innovators, investors and entrepreneurs. This year’s edition is under the banner of the dynamism of Africa, youth and robots and recorded the presence of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
One hundred African startups, “the most promising in Africa”, participate in the event, coming from Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia.
